Overview
- The state Verfassungsschutz report published on June 4, 2026 shows espionage and sabotage cases jumped from three in 2024 to 100 in 2025, according to Interior Minister Magdalena Finke.
- Authorities attribute the spike mainly to drone overflights, surveillance attempts at military and sensitive sites, phishing operations and the use of low‑cost, one‑time operatives called 'Wegwerfagenten'.
- The government will strengthen the Verfassungsschutz and the Landespolizei with new personnel and open a Bund‑Länder 'Gemeinsames Abwehrzentrum Hybrid' this month to coordinate a nationwide picture of hybrid threats.
- Politically motivated crimes hit a record 2,822 offences in 2025, with right‑wing incidents falling slightly and left‑wing offences rising by nearly 25 percent; antisemitic offences fell about 23 percent to 97 but officials warned the threat remains.
- Report authors link the trend to wider geopolitics and Schleswig‑Holstein’s coastal exposure to North and Baltic Sea activity, warn of a large undetected 'dark field' of attacks, and say the shift will require sustained local and federal security measures that affect communities near military and infrastructure sites.